Improvement in wool-washing machines



UNITED STATES "PATENT QFFICE.

JOHN BACHELDER, OF NORWICH, CONNECTICUT;

IMPROVEMENT IN WOOL-WASHINGMAC HINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,822, dated September 8, 1874; application filed July 29, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be-it known that I, JOHN BAGHELDER, of Norwich, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Machines for Scouring and Washing Wool; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description of the same, ref- .same, Iwill proceed to describe it more in detail.

In the drawings, the parts marked A A are the sides of the supporting-frame, which are securely fastened to the base or bottom piece B. To the front of the frame of the machine is attached a feeding-apron, C, which is rotated by means of a small gear, a, meshing into the large gear D, fast upon the shaft of the large washing roll or wheel E. Gear a. is fast to the shaft b, around which apron C passes. The wool to be washed or scoured is laid evenly by the attendant upon the moving apron C, which carriesit forward and delivers it to the teeth 0, which project from the washin g-cylinder E, and by said teeth the wool is carried down in an even and uniform sheet or layer below the upper edge d of the liquid-receptacle; and as said washing-cylinder continues to revolve in the direction indicated by arrows, the wool is carried down and through the cleansing liquid in the receptacle F, a perforated curved. plate, 6, preventing the Wool from dropping down into the liquid-receptacle during the operation. The sheet (irlayer of wool, as it leaves the teeth 0 upon the opposite'side of the washing-cylinder, is delivered to and passes through a set of squeezing-rolls,

G, and from which rolls it is delivered to the teeth 0 of another washing-cylinder, E, by which it is carried down and through clear soft water in the receptacle F, a perforated curved plate, e, keeping the wool upon the teeth a" during the operation. As the wool leaves the teeth 0 in an even or uniform sheet or layer it is received by and passes between the squeezingor wringingrollsH H, one of which the roll H, in this instance-is covered with a felt or cloth casing, f; and as the bearings of this roll are pressed down by means of levers and weights, as clearly indicated by full and dotted lines in the drawings, the wool, as it is delivered from thelast squeeze-rolls, is knocked from their surface by the blades of the stripping-rolls in small locks andthrown into the air, leaving'it open and comparatively light for drying. I I are stripping-rolls, provided with blades 1 1, which run close to the squeezing or wringing rolls H H, as indicated in the drawings, the blades of the roll I preventing the wool from winding upon roll H, While .it is prevented from winding upon roll H by the action of the blades 1 of roll 1. To insure the perfect delivery of the wool from the teeth 0 c, stripping-rods 2' 2Vare arranged upon the delivery sides of the washing or scouring cylinders E E, and the lower sides of these rods are provided with small teeth 3 3; and said stripping-rods have their ends fitted to work in inclined grooves upon the insides of the frame-pieces A A, and they are drawn back and forth in said grooves by means of two jointed rods, 4.- 4, the front ends of which are fastened to pins upon theinsides of revolving disks or wheels 5 5. A side view of one of these rods is shown in Fig. 3, the central portion of said rods being supported by suitable guides attached to the insides of the framepieces of the machine; and the front strippingrod is attached to the reciprocating rods 4 4 by means of hinged links 6 6, and the rear stripping-rod 2 by means of the hinged ends 6 6, and one end of each stripping-rod 2 is fitted onto a pendent or swinging pin,7, which swinging pins are hung upon studs projecting from theside of the frame. 7

During the operation of the machine, the disks or wheels =5 impart a back-and-forth motion to the stripping-rods 2 2, sufficient to cause the rods to clear each row of teeth 0 c, and then draw them back after the teeth have passed, the inclined grooves, within which the ends of the stripping-rods 2 work, being sufficient to keep the rods elevated, so that they will not be caught by their respective teeth 0 c.

It will thus be seen that the stripping-rods 2 2 work back andforth between the washing or pin cylinders and squeeze-rolls, and after they have thrown the wool from one row onset of pins they are drawn back toward their respective cylinders and repeat the-operation as the next row of teeth is brought into position.

The swinging pins 7 are so arranged in connection with the grooves guiding the ends. of said stripping-rods that said rods move be-' tween and descend above every row of pins or teeth in the washing cylinder, with points downward to enter the wool that may be upon the pins, and in its passage from the heel of the pins in the washing-cylinder to the squeezerolls the points are gradually turned toward said squeeze-rolls to allow the wool to slide ofl" upon the lower one.

It will be understood that the row of teeth upon the cylinder E E is so arranged in relation to the speed of said cylinders and the motion of wheels 5 as that every part works in harmony, and without any cramping or binding. It may further be remarked that all of the shafts and wheels are driven by gearin g, and thereby have a uniform and positive motion.

In practice it may be found desirable to add more washing or scouring cylinders,which can be readily done by increasing the size of the machine and duplicating some of the parts.

The cleansing liquid may be drawn oif from it; the last vat in a two or three vat machine,,and the last two vats in a machine havin g four or more vats to be supplied continuously with clear soft water, constantly overflowing during the process of scouring and rinsing.

As the curved plates 0 e are finely perforated, the cleansing liquid has free access to and fully saturates the wool as it is moved along above said plates by means of the teeth a a, While the teeth, in turn, keep the wool ex- .tendedin a uniform sheet or layer during the belt.

Having described myiinprovements in machines for washing and scouring wool, what I claim therein as new and of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The stripping-rods 2, arranged to operate substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the washing or scouring cylinders E E, provided with teeth 0 c, of the stripping-bars 2 2, and reciprocating rods 4 4, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, in a machine for washing and scouring wool, of the two cylinders E E, squeezing or wringing rolls G G H H, stripping-rolls I I, and stripping-rods 2 2, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN BAOHELDER.

Witn esses I H. P. TILLINGHAST,

ELIJAH BENT. 

